Air Handling Units (AHUs) are one of several components in cooling and heating systems. They are an important component as the AHU houses a number of components used in the system to provide forced air for climate control in a particular structure. AHU components typically include motors, heating/cooling coils, and blowers as well as the required interface connections to effect such climate control.
The AHU is an enclosed interconnected framed panel structure. The framed panel structures have insulated panels that are supported between framing members, also referred to as raceways, to define interconnected rectangular compartments. AHUs are typically large and bulky, the amount of floor space required to accommodate the AHU being commonly referred to as a “footprint.” Due to the layout of a particular structure, the AHU may be located in any number of locations, including rooftop installations.
To reduce the footprint, the AHU compartments are mounted atop each other. Since the compartment containing the blower assembly and motor is often mounted atop other AHU structures, vibration isolation is highly desirable. That is, by virtue of the operation of the motor and blower assembly, vibrations may be produced that could otherwise propagate to adjacent AHU structures and possibly to ductwork, generating noise or possibly causing damage to components subjected to these vibrations.
One attempted solution to this concern, U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,782, is directed to an integral suspension system for an air conditioning system adapted for mounting the air conditioning system to a support surface. Substantially enclosed spring support receptacles are formed at each end of Z rails for securing springs therein. A set of four retaining bolts is arranged within the spring support receptacles for contacting the outer periphery of the base coil of the spring when mounted within the receptacle to prevent lateral movement of the spring. The springs collectively support the Z rails which likewise support cross channels for mounting AHU components. However, this suspension system construction requires specially configured structural components that may add significantly to the cost of the AHU.
What is needed is an air handling unit construction provided with a vibration isolation device having a minimum number of components and no specially machined structural parts to minimize costs associated with fabrication and installation.